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Friday, December 7, 2012

$3.5 Million Grant Awarded for I-DEA Program

$3.5 million grant aims to
increase digital, career, and college-readiness skills of adult English
learners

Below and attached is a news release announcing the $3.5
million I-DEA grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The first 10 college grantees were named today during the State Board business
meeting: Big Bend Community College, Institute for Extended Learning (Spokane
Falls CC), Lake Washington Institute of Technology, North Seattle Community
College, Pierce College Puyallup, Renton Technical College, Seattle Central
Community College, Shoreline Community College, Tacoma Community College, and
Walla Walla Community College.

$3.5 million grant aims to increase digital, career, and college-readiness
skills of adult English learners:10 community and technical colleges grantees announced today

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Students with low-level English skills will have access to a
new set of technology-enhanced educational resources and tools thanks to a $3.5
million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The State Board forCommunity and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) announced the Integrated Digital
English Acceleration (I-DEA) project grant today.
The program — which builds on the success of the nationally recognized IntegratedBasic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) initiative — targets adult
learners in the lowest three levels English as a Second Language.
By the end of the project pilot, I-DEA learners will increase English language,
digital, and career and college readiness skills with fewer hours of
instruction than learners in traditional programs.
Among other goals, college and partner community-based organizations (CBOs)
will create open source curriculum and identify best practices of
technology-enhanced instruction that allow more students to be served with less
in-class instruction. Courses and techniques developed with the grant will be
open sourced, allowing colleges and CBOs in Washington and around the world to
replicate I-DEA.
“This generous grant means our colleges can develop innovative,
technology-based tools to tap the potential of a growing and under-served
population,” said Marty Brown, SBCTC executive director. “Not only will it lead
to better skills and better jobs for the students; their success increases the
economic vitality of the state.”
In its first year, the project will support 10 college and CBO learning hubs
across the state, adding 10 additional partner sites in the second year and the
remaining 14 college-CBO partnerships in the third year. Eventually, I-DEA will
serve about 1,600 adult learners in cohorts at all 34 community and technical
colleges and partner CBOs.
The first 10 college grantees were named today during the State Board business
meeting: Big Bend Community College, Institute for Extended Learning (Spokane
Falls CC), Lake Washington Institute of Technology, North Seattle Community
College, Pierce College Puyallup, Renton Technical College, Seattle Central
Community College, Shoreline Community College, Tacoma Community College, and
Walla Walla Community College.
Instructors and technology coaches will be trained to use a suite of online
tools to create and refine online learning modules based on I-BEST’s core
components.
Students will use eLearning resources — including open source online
instructional tools — for 50 percent or more of their learning experience at no
extra cost, with loaned laptop computers and online access provided to ensure
availability of reliable technology. Targeted student support includes online
advising and e-tutoring.
The project lays a foundation to prepare students to enter I-BEST and other
post-secondary programs to gain job-specific skills.
I-BEST is a teaching model that challenges the traditional notion that students
must complete all basic education before beginning a job training program; an
approach that often discourages students, because it is time-consuming and the
basic skills classes alone do not qualify for college credit. I-BEST pairs two
instructors in the classroom – one to teach technical skills content and the
other to teach basic skills in reading, math, writing or English language – so
students can move through school and into jobs faster. And I-BEST students
start earning college credits immediately.
I-BEST has demonstrated the effectiveness of applied skills, rigor, and support
services to accelerate student performance and progress to college and career
readiness. U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary Martha Kanter recently
recognized I-BEST as the only program proven to move this population of adults
further and faster to postsecondary education credentials.
# # #

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is led by a
Governor-appointed board and provides leadership, advocacy, and coordination
for Washington’s system of 34 public community and technical colleges. Each
year, nearly 500,000 students train for the workforce, prepare to transfer to a
university, gain basic math and English skills, or pursue continuing education.